This Istanbul Disaster Prevention Center Has a Vibrant Volcanic Form

Despite, and in some ways because of, the human contribution to global warming, the Earth exerts an incredible power over people's comfortable living conditions, engendering a need for institutions like Riccardo Mariano's Istanbul Disaster Prevention and Education Center. The ThyssenKrupp competition entry imagines a monumental edifice which represents the awesome activity of the planet and houses facilities with information about it.

Set in the urban sprawl of the Turkish city, the enormous structure spreads up from a low-level perimeter and peaks with a sharp crevice over its core. It mimics the upthrust of Earth's tectonic plates to shape an immense abstract volcano. The gravel-covered curves of the cladding create a connection with the ground, but Riccardo Mariano's Istanbul Disaster Prevention and Education Center emits a celestial spectrum of colorful light to reference the human presence inside.